Sunshine during the Rain
by heartlessleostar
Summary: A little look into Spencer and Caleb's dynamic in D.C. Pre-6x11, Pro-Spaleb, two-shot.
1. Chapter 1

It was a cool, rainy Saturday morning in D.C.

Her body clock caused her to wake up before 6 am, while it was still dark out. She groaned quietly to herself, burying her face into her pillow in annoyance. She shut her eyes in determination and rolled over. But it was too late... she was already too awake to even think of drifting off. She lay on her back and stared at the ceiling of her tiny bedroom before turning to look through the thinly veiled curtains of her window. The dull, brooding weather would have dampened anyone's spirits further, but not hers. She took comfort in the soft pattering of rain drops, in the slow rumbling sounds of thunder. She breathed in heavily and her back arched involuntarily, falling back relaxed on the mattress. She ought to get up and set about making her coffee, but there was no rush. She had two whole days off to herself, something she hadn't had in weeks, and she wanted to take the chance to just breathe. She loved work, it kept her mind off her loneliness and the demons she brought with her from Rosewood, but sometimes even Spencer Hastings needed a breather.

Spencer stood up to open the window before she got back into bed and snuggled under the covers. The smell of earthly goodness crept up her senses and soothed her instantly. She lazily dug under her duvet for a couple of minutes and pulled out her phone. The first thing she noticed was the glaring number of e-mails in her notifications, and with great difficulty she swiped it away. Spencer had been working day in and day out for the past couple weeks, and she refused to let herself be pulled back into the wild goose chase of government life on her day off. She checked her messages; Piper from work sending selfies of her weekend getaway with her fiancé, Melissa nagging as usual about something completely irrelevant to Spencer, and Caleb… telling her that he'd be over at 9 am with breakfast.

Spencer dropped her phone and bit her finger nail, smiling stupidly around the edges. She didn't see much of anyone these days, at least not outside of work. And it didn't really bother her. After all, she had never been much of a people person, preferring to bury herself in a 900 page book the whole day rather than go on a road trip. But she was more than willing to share her days off with Caleb, she owed him that much at least. She hadn't seen him in over a month despite being in the same city, and each time they made a plan, she was forced to cancel it at the last minute due to work. Spencer didn't allow herself to feel too guilty, though. Her friendship with Caleb was light and easy going, they had matured over the years, and both of them were secure enough in their own lives to not get upset over such things. Instead, they made the most of what little time they got together, which wasn't very often, but it worked.

Spencer was happy in D.C. Life was hectic but she learned to stop jumping up at every loud sound, at every random, unexpected text message. She still had nightmares now and then, but therapy helped her slightly. Mostly it was work that got her through, and texts from Caleb. And Caleb's calls during her lunch break. And Caleb's calls when she would take the subway back home late at night.

Spencer smiled to herself again, her cheeks warm just thinking about him. She rarely allowed her thoughts to wander, and she forced herself to behave when she was around him. She hadn't fully admitted her feelings to herself just yet, it was still very early days, and she had no clue about how he felt. They had a complicated past behind them, and she didn't want to mess anything up just yet. She knew better than to jump headfirst into something so new and different, and she liked her lifestyle at the moment.

" _It's cray-o'clock in the morning and I can't go back to sleep. I'm hungry so hurryyy"_ she sent to Caleb and tossed her phone back on the bed. She set about slowly preparing her coffee, re-arranging her spice cabinet out of sheer boredom while the water boiled. She sat on the arm of her sofa and stared outside, watching as light slowly started seeping into her apartment. She took in the breeze and closed her eyes as slight rain drops hit her face. She took off her camisole and put on her Georgetown hoodie instead. It was a couple sizes too large but Spencer liked the way it reached half-way down her thighs. She spent the rest of her time cleaning out her kitchen which she had abandoned for so long.

The sound of her phone buzzing jolted Spencer out of her chores. ' _Aria?_ ' she thought to herself, confused. She wasn't really in touch with the other 3 girls, they were all so busy with their own lives in different cities and it had been a while since had spoken to any of them.

" _Oh my god Spence, looooook! also when are ya getting your ass on Instagram!?"_ read the first text, followed by a screenshot. Spencer's mouth dropped open when she opened the image. Hanna had posted a picture of a shiny engagement ring on her finger with the caption "He asked for my heart, and I said yes 3" Spencer smiled brightly and hurriedly opened up Hanna's contact number, but hesitated when she saw how early it was. She knew Hanna liked her sleep-ins, and she probably shouldn't disturb her so soon.

" _Oh my gosh this is amazing :D I can't handle my own e-mails, let alone different types of social media :P Hope Boston is good xx_ " she texted back Aria.

Spencer didn't know much about Jordan, Hanna's boyfriend-now-fiancé, other than the fact that he was tall, Australian, and hot. But nevertheless Spencer was delighted for her blonde friend. God knew they all deserved to go off and find their own happiness, even if it were in different corners of the world.

She was still looking at the photo of the ring when her doorbell rang. ' _Caleb_ ' her mind sprung up and she quickly shut her phone off. She had forgotten about him in all her excitement. Suddenly she felt uneasy as she went to open the door, and decided to not mention Hanna's engagement, for the time being at least. She didn't know how he'd react, it had been a while since Hanna and Caleb had split up after all.

She pulled open the door and was met with familiar narrow, brown eyes and a tired grin.

"Don't shoot, I come bearing bagels" Caleb said, lifting a package and shaking it in her face.

Spencer rolled her eyes dramatically and let him in, pushing him and laughing at his silly accent, ignoring the warm bubbles in her stomach.


	2. Chapter 2

"We should have left this town behind for the weekend" he said after a few minutes of silence.

Spencer and Caleb were sitting up on her bed watching old cases of murder investigations on YouTube. Empty boxes strewn with breadcrumbs and remnants of cream cheese lay between them on the sheets. Spencer normally would have had a panic attack at just the thought of the mess, but it was her day off, and she relished the idea of not having to worry. They were on their 9th video now, and the food, cool breeze, and comfortable pillows were making her slightly drowsy.

Her head perked up at the sound of Caleb's voice. "Didn't you just go to Miami ten days ago, though?" she asked while reducing the volume of her laptop.

"Yeah but you weren't there" he said simply, looking at her. Her eyes widened and she pretended to adjust the pillow behind her lower back.

"Uh, I meant you haven't taken a vacation in so long. Did you really wanna stay holed up in your apartment on the off chance that you get more than half a day to yourself?" he quickly backtracked.

"Caleb, I honestly am not in the mood to go to some other city and explore. What's the point in spending money on air tickets and sleeping the whole time when I could do the exact same thing right here? I'd rather stay in and… appreciate the beautifully crafted interiors of my humble abode, if you will" she finished with a giggle, shaking her head.

He laughed along with her. "Fair enough, I guess that's just my crazy need to 'not stay in one place' talking"

"You should be grateful! I'm teaching you the art of blissful domesticity and the simple pleasures derived from it"

"Alright, thank you so much, Miss Spencer Thesaurus Hastings"

"I will actually hit you with my pillow, watch out"

She narrowed her eyes and attempted to glare at him before they both burst out laughing.

"You know, you could be intimidating if you wanted to" Caleb said, taking their coffee mugs and getting up. "Refill?"

"Oh, yeah. Thanks." She got up and followed him to the kitchen, sitting on one of the table stools. "If this is going to be some shit-talking about how dead my eyes are, you're dead to me."

"No, no I mean it. I've seen you at work, you know. You can be pretty terrifying when you're in a bad mood" he spoke as he moved around.

"Well, yeah. It's part of the job description" she laughed, toying with her finger nails. "Influencing people's decisions is not an easy task"

"Never seen you shy away from a challenge, though" he said, bringing her mug back and sitting next to her.

"Wait what about yours?" Spencer asked, pointing to the single mug he placed in front of her.

"No thanks, there's only so much of your coffee I can take" he said with a smirk.

"Please, it's not that strong. You're just weak" she bit back, taking a sip.

"Maybe I am" he muttered. Spencer raised an eyebrow at him, but he simply smiled back.

They sat like that in silence for a couple of minutes. Spencer could almost feel Caleb's eyes darting back and forth before settling somewhere deep on the surface of her soul. It was at times like these that she had no idea what he was thinking, and even if she did know, she refused to let her mind go there. She was Spencer Hastings after all. She was the controlled, level-headed, tranquil…

"So, uh, I saw that Hanna got engaged" Caleb said in what Spencer assumed was an attempt at nonchalance.

 _Shit._ Spencer froze and gripped her mug involuntarily. "Yeah…um… Aria texted me about it" she said, turning to face him with a smile before looking back ahead.

Again, it was silent. Spencer hated this, awkward silences were never something she had to deal with, with Caleb, whom she was comfortable with. However, recently she had been starting to get slightly hyper aware of her changing feelings towards him.

"I, uh, don't really know much about them together but Jordan seems like a really nice guy" Spencer said, desperate to avoid the prolonged quietness. Caleb nodded absently to her comment.

"Hey" she tentatively placed her palm on his knee and fully turned to face him. "It's okay to…feel whatever you're feeling"

He stared at her for a while before saying, "No, no I'm good." He sighed. "I'm not upset or angry or anything. I'm happy for Hanna. I guess it's just a bit, weird? I don't know."

"That's normal! I mean, you have a history together, way before New York even happened. Honestly if it was Toby I'd probably feel a bit strange myself. Toby and Hanna meant more to us than just a couple of high school romances."

Caleb was staring at her again, this time a bit more intense, as if his eyes were trained on hers. She hurriedly continued, "But that doesn't mean we let them dictate our lives either. Sometimes, it's good to take the plunge, to explore your options in places you were never looking at before."

His eyes sparkled with something Spencer couldn't identify. "You always know how to say the right thing" he softly, shaking his head in awe.

"Well, I'm not sure about that, but I always try to be honest." Spencer's cheeks were flushed as she laughed, rushing to hide her face behind her mug.

Suddenly Caleb's hand was an inch away from her face. He gently pushed some stray hair behind her ear, his fingers lightly caressing her bangs as they moved. Spencer swore her heart stopped beating.

"I really like your new hair. The fringe suits you a lot"

Spencer bit her lip, but couldn't stop from grinning. "Um, thanks. Just wanted to switch it up I guess. Sometimes change is good" she said, shrugging.

Caleb smiled back. "Change is good" he repeated.

Spencer finished up her coffee and moved to the sink to clean up.

"Does that mean you'll change your lifestyle a bit and travel with me again sometime?" came his voice from behind her.

Spencer grinned as she rinsed her mug. "Of course. I'm gonna need you around, you're far more efficient than a local tour guide."

She felt a light touch on her shoulder. "That's very flattering. Although this tour guide says that we're missing more psycho killer stories as we speak, so we should get back to that"

She just laughed as Caleb moved back to her bedroom. "I'll be right there" she called.

The rain had stopped a while ago, and the sun was shining brightly, the sky a deep blue. _How fucking cliché,_ Spencer thought with a smirk to herself. She wiped her hands dry absently, shaking her head slowly before moving away to her room.


End file.
